Tag: Ricardo Pepi

USMNT lineup vs. Brazil: Berhalter makes two changes after Colombia blowout

Ricardo Pepi and Yunus Musah are in as the USMNT hopes for a far better showing against Brazil

The U.S. men’s national team is staying the course, with Gregg Berhalter making few changes to his lineup for Wednesday’s friendly against Brazil.

Despite losing 5-1 on Saturday to Colombia, Berhalter made just two alterations to his starting 11. Ricardo Pepi and Yunus Musah were given the nod against Brazil, with Folarin Balogun and Johnny Cardoso making way.

Balogun, after a high-profile recruitment battle for his services at the international level, has endured an underwhelming first season with AS Monaco. The 22-year-old posted eight goals and seven assists in all competitions for the Ligue 1 side, a step down after his 22-goal campaign at mid-table Reims in 2022-23.

With the USMNT, Balogun has struggled to influence games regularly. While his three goal/three assist haul in 11 caps is respectable, it is not quite the output many expected when the former Arsenal forward opted for the USMNT over England.

Pepi, meanwhile, found his minutes limited at PSV due to the spectacular form of starter Luuk de Jong. Still, the Texan was productive when he got the chance, scoring nine times in just 764 minutes played in all competitions. With the USMNT, Pepi’s 10 goals from 24 caps compare favorably with Balogun’s output, though neither striker has scored for the U.S. in 2024.

Musah, meanwhile, will give the USMNT a different look from the more defensively-oriented Johnny. The former has often functioned as a No. 8, while the latter plays deeper for club and country.

The USMNT is likely looking at its options in case starting defensive midfielder Tyler Adams — who has battled hamstring and back injuries for over a year — is not at 100% for the start of the Copa América. Earlier this week, Berhalter confirmed that Adams was available to face Brazil, but would be on a minutes cap.

USMNT lineup vs. Brazil

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Pepi’s agent fires warning on lack of PSV minutes: ‘It can’t continue like this’

The USMNT forward has started just two games this season

Ricardo Pepi’s agent has sounded a warning over his client’s ongoing lack of minutes at PSV, saying “it can’t continue like this.”

Pepi has been productive in his first season at PSV, but has been forced to mostly watch from the bench as first-choice striker Luuk de Jong has put together a sensational campaign.

The U.S. men’s national team striker has appeared in 35 total games for PSV, but has only started twice. Still, Pepi has managed to score nine times, averaging a goal every 66 minutes he’s been on the pitch.

In an interview with Voetbal International, Pepi stressed the importance of staying patient while also maintaining that he is far from satisfied with the amount of time he’s been playing.

“I also talked to the coach about how I can get more playing time. He says that I have to stay patient and keep doing what I am doing, because there will be times when I can help the team and then I have to be ready,” Pepi said.

“It is of course difficult to be patient for so long. I feel good during training and when I come on the field, I regularly score. Then you want to explode as a striker. So it is difficult, but at the same time I knew that I wanted to go to PSV and that there would be several good attackers [there].”

The 21-year-old added: “I am not satisfied with my playing time, but I am satisfied with the goals I have scored.”

Pepi’s agent Jaime Garcia stressed that his client is happy at PSV, but also admitted that there was a sense of urgency to increase his minutes as he eyes a major role at the Copa América this summer and the World Cup in 2026.

“First of all, there is complete understanding, because Luuk de Jong is a phenomenon and we must take our hats off to his achievements,” Garcia said. “But at the same time, this season is not good enough for Ricardo. Ten percent of all playing time is of course far too little. He understands, is patient and congratulates Luuk, but for himself it is not enough. However, I have never met a player who was happy when he didn’t play.”

Garcia added: “If you play so little, you can also lose your place in the national team. With the Copa América this year and the World Cup in two years’ time in your own country, there are two great tournaments coming up. Ricardo wants and needs to be there. That’s why it can’t continue like this.

“He will have to take a step in his career. That’s just normal. Every player wants to continue to grow and reach his full potential. Ricardo obviously prefers to do that at PSV. Ricardo is far from home and he wants to have a home in Europe.”

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Tillman, on time and wide awake, scores stunner in PSV win

Tillman answered his alarm clock in the best way possible for PSV

Malik Tillman was wide awake for PSV’s win over FC Volendam.

The U.S. men’s national team attacking midfielder put up a goal and an assist in an emphatic performance, helping his side claim a 3-1 victory over 10-man FC Volendam on Saturday.

A week after being left out of the side by manager Peter Bosz for oversleeping, Tillman was handed a chance to make up for it, and ended up involved on the goals that provided the margin of victory at Philips Stadion.

Against a Volendam side that has a dreadful history against PSV — broadcaster ESPN noted that the previous nine meetings had seen the Eindhoven-based club score 50 goals — Tillman was handed his first start since a summer loan move from Bayern Munich.

What followed was more or less pure dominance: PSV took 38 shots and held 76% of the possession over the 90 minutes, while Volendam eventually went down a man thanks to Benaissa Benamar’s late red card.

Still, at halftime PSV only lead 1-0, and it was only in the second half that Tillman in particular started to heat up. Halftime substitute Guus Til helped as well, finishing Tillman’s delicate lob over the Volendam defense to make it 2-0 just moments after the restart.

Ricardo Pepi stepped into the fray with 20 minutes to go, and made an impact of his own. He drew the foul that got Benamar sent off, and the Texan played a big role in Tillman’s stoppage-time strike.

It wasn’t clear if Pepi got a touch on an attempted header as the ball bounced toward him, but it was enough to fool his marker, and the resulting deflection fell perfectly for Tillman.

The 21-year-old raced away through an enormous gap in the Volendam back line, then produced an overpowering shot from an angle to cap the scoring off.

It was, in other words, a perfect response to any doubts that Bosz or PSV fans might have had over the club’s new signing. The win also increased the club’s lead in the Eredivisie to four points, though AZ and FC Twente could still reduce that gap with games later on the weekend.

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PSV’s USMNT trio made some history in a bad night at Arsenal

For the first time ever, three U.S. internationals shared the same UEFA Champions League pitch

For the first time ever, three U.S. internationals played in the same UEFA Champions League game. That is an accomplishment worth celebrating. As for the game itself? Much less so.

PSV trio Sergiño Dest, Malik Tillman and Ricardo Pepi all shared the field on Wednesday, but the Dutch side was blown away in a 4-0 defeat to Arsenal to kick off both teams’ group-stage campaigns.

Dest played the full match, while Tillman came on midway through the second half and Pepi was introduced in second-half stoppage time.

In particular, it was a rough night for Dest, who tried and mostly failed to contain Bukayo Saka on the right side of Arsenal’s attack. The first and third goal for the Gunners could at least partially be blamed on Dest.

First, he completely switched off and allowed Saka to run past him and score on a rebound.

Dest would later get sucked inside and was unable to close down Gabriel Jesus quickly enough, as the Brazilian had plenty of time to take a touch and fire home Arsenal’s third goal.

After the game, PSV head coach Peter Bosz admitted that Arsenal’s superior quality was the difference, adding that his team did not defend well in its own box.

“[Our players] worked, they played with the ball, but the difference in quality was too great,” Bosz said.

“I’m willing to take a critical look at myself. They defended well in their box, we did not in ours. Then you run into a major defeat. If we play more at this level more, we’ll learn from these mistakes. I hope we can see that in the second leg in December, against the best team in the group and one of the best teams in the world.”

PSV will also face Lens and Sevilla in a difficult Group B.

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The Americans Abroad Five: Weston McKennie won’t go away quietly

From an afterthought just a couple months ago, McKennie is once again integral at Juventus

Weston McKennie admits he wasn’t exactly welcomed back to Juventus with open arms.

The midfielder left the club in January at the height of the Plusvalenza scandal, then proceeded to turn in a disappointing loan spell at Leeds. When he returned, there were reports Juventus was looking to offload him.

“You’re a starting player for one of the biggest clubs in the world, and you decide to leave [that] club at a time of crisis, you know?” McKennie said on Tim Ream’s The American Dream podcast last week. “It’s pretty natural. I came back and I felt like nobody really cared.”

From an afterthought just a couple months ago, McKennie has once again made himself integral to the Bianconeri. 

McKennie’s resurgence has come at a position he’ll admit isn’t his preferred spot on the field, but he has nevertheless shown that reports of his Juventus demise appear to have been greatly exaggerated.

We’ll kick off this week’s Five with McKennie’s breakout display on Saturday.

Berhalter talks USMNT strikers after Balogun, Pepi both score in Oman rout

Berhalter has to be liking what he’s seeing as both No. 9s were on the scoresheet

The U.S. men’s national team could have the sort of “good” problem that every team in the world wants: multiple in-form strikers.

Tuesday’s comprehensive 4-0 win over Oman saw Folarin Balogun open the scoring after 13 minutes, while Ricardo Pepi snuck a 79th minute effort into the bottom corner to give the USMNT its third goal on the night.

Balogun now has two goals in his four USMNT caps, while Pepi scored in both of the team’s games in this window. This comes right after the duo secured moves to better situations at club level that both bear some similarities.

Balogun was one of the best strikers in Ligue 1 last year, which encouraged Monaco to put up €40-plus million to seal an August transfer from Arsenal. Pepi, meanwhile, joined PSV in an €11 million transfer after the 20-year-old impressed on loan in the Eredivisie last season with strugglers Groningen.

With both players settling in at their new clubs and having success with the USMNT, it was no surprise that head coach Gregg Berhalter took multiple questions about the two options in this camp at the No. 9 position.

“You always want your forwards scoring goals. Our job as teammates and as coaches is to put them in a position to score goals,” Berhalter told reporters in a post-match press conference. “It’s important that they both scored. As far as we see the competition, it’s twofold, right? It’s what they do for their clubs each and every week, and what they do for us when they’re in camp.”

Focusing on Pepi first, Berhalter didn’t particularly even focus on the goal, instead citing his play in pressing situations and a near-assist in the game’s final minutes.

“I thought from a pressing standpoint, Ricardo did a great job,” said Berhalter. “It’s really good to see him playing full of confidence. That move he had, and the pass to Weston [late in the match] would have been a fantastic goal. All you really want is your players to be confident, and Ricardo certainly is.”

Asked about Balogun later in the press conference, Berhalter said that he feels the USMNT’s other players are only just starting to figure out where to look for the former Arsenal man.

“I think we’re still trying to figure out the best way to utilize Balo, because we know he’s high quality,” explained Berhalter. “He made a number of good runs behind the back line today that we didn’t pick up on, so he’s still integrating that side of it. And for us, it’s again, all we want to do is put the forwards in position where they can score goals.”

Berhalter expanded a bit on how his system is designed to create the kinds of chances that Balogun (and Pepi) tend to do well at converting. “That’s our game. That’s our game model. That’s how we play: to get our forwards chances, we need to get low balls in the penalty box. We need them to attack in space between the center backs, runs behind the backline, all those things will help create chances for them.”

With October friendlies against Germany and Ghana looking like a more stern test for the USMNT, Berhalter will be hoping that both players maintain or even improve on the confidence and finishing form they’ve shown of late.

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Pepi: I’ve never had a problem with Berhalter

The striker was one of the final cuts from the 2022 World Cup roster

Ricardo Pepi has insisted he’s never had a problem with U.S. men’s national team head coach Gregg Berhalter, despite being left off last year’s World Cup roster.

Pepi was one of the last cuts for the 26-man squad that went to Qatar, with Jesús Ferreira, Haji Wright and Josh Sargent preferred over the then-Groningen forward.

After six months away from the team, Berhalter was rehired as USMNT head coach and will return to the sideline in friendlies against Uzbekistan on Saturday and Oman on Tuesday.

After his World Cup snub, Pepi has returned to the USMNT in impressive fashion, scoring four goals in four appearances so far in 2023.

Pepi spoke about his relationship with Berhalter on the Offside With Taylor Twellman podcast, insisting that there has never been an issue between the pair.

“To be honest, I never really had a problem with Gregg,” the 20-year-old said. “We had a phone call before this camp and he just explained to me my role in the squad. He explained to me that he was back. So, it’s all a healthy relationship with him. I’ve never had a problem with him at all.

“So it’s all normal. And of course, we have a good relationship on the pitch. He’s always telling me on video if he sees something, he’s always telling me to improve this, improve that. So, you know, it’s all a good relationship, to be honest.”

Pepi completed an offseason transfer from Augsburg to PSV after starring on loan with Groningen last season. The striker said he enjoys the style of play in the Eredivisie and is looking to stay patient at PSV, where he’s served as a backup to Luuk de Jong in the early season.

“They have a very nice style of football, which is why I like the league a lot,” Pepi said. “And of course, [there are] a lot of opportunities for young players. I feel like it’s a good stepping stone for a young player as well.

“I signed a five-year deal [at PSV], so it’s about patience of course. And it’s about working every day, trying to get better as a player. A club like PSV is known for making big transfer players, they’re always helping players go out to the big clubs. So I feel like I’m in the right spot and I’m just going to keep working until I get my opportunity.”

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The Americans Abroad Five: PSV showing promise for USMNT trio

Sergiño Dest, Malik Tillman and Ricardo Pepi should all be big factors for the Dutch giants this season

In the span of just a few months, PSV became one of the first clubs on the list of anyone monitoring Americans Abroad.

Three players who figure to play a key role over the next decade for the U.S. men’s national team — Sergiño Dest, Malik Tillman and Ricardo Pepi — all joined the Dutch giants over the summer.

The transformation of PSV into a hub for Americans is largely due to Earnie Stewart, the former sporting director of U.S. Soccer who now holds the same position with PSV.

The season is still young, but there are some promising signs coming out of Eindhoven for all three USMNT players.

Dest looks to be the player who’s immediately benefitted the most, but Tillman and Pepi can also be encouraged by their first month at the club.

Let’s kick off this week’s Five with a look at PSV’s American trio.

USMNT players in UEFA Champions League 2023-24

11 U.S. players are in the world’s biggest club competition

There was once a time where a U.S. men’s national team player being on a Champions League squad list — even if they might have no shot at playing in any actual games — was a very big deal.

It’s safe to say those days are gone, with no fewer than 11 U.S. players on the books for clubs that qualified for this year’s competition.

Sure, in some cases the player in question is probably a major longshot to even dress on gameday, but between Christian Pulisic’s sublime start to life at AC Milan and a USMNT trio at PSV, USMNT fans are likely going to be watching games on multiple screens just to keep up.

Here is the complete list of U.S. men’s players to make it to this year’s Champions League proper:

USMNT transfer rater: Grading every player’s move this summer

It’s a big summer for the USMNT, with a majority of its key players looking for new clubs

It’s a big summer for the U.S. men’s national team.

We aren’t talking about the Nations League or the Gold Cup here, though those are clearly significant in their own right. Instead, we’re talking about the summer transfer window, which promises to be one of the more active ones in recent memory for the USMNT.

Nearly all of the team’s top players have the potential to change clubs in the summer of 2023. With three years to go until a World Cup on home soil, the decisions USMNT players make this summer could determine their trajectory ahead of 2026.

With that in mind, we are tracking and rating all of the most significant completed moves for USMNT players this summer.